Blue chip pitching prospects are professional sports’ most delicate flower. Except, unlike a flower, no scientifically proven method has been established regarding proper cultivation.

There’s no “right” way to bring a teenager up through an organization’s system while still absolutely maximizing his production at the major league level. And in the back of everyone’s mind lingers the possibility to a debilitating injury that is always one pitch away.

Coddling a prospect by hawk-eyeing his pitches and innings hasn’t proven to do more bad than good, but it hasn’t proven to do more good than bad either. Once a prospect is inside the system, fertilization can be a high stakes game of roulette.

Should he start? Should he come out of the pen? Should more pitches be added to his arsenal? Should he focus on developing a curve? Is he throwing too much heat?

But the lure of what a young blue chip pitching prospect brings to an organization is enough to make all the stress worth it. Even though they only contribute once every five days, a sturdy starting pitcher is any good baseball team’s foundation.

Momentum will never be strong enough to overcome ace starters like Justin Verlander or C.C. Sabathia once they take the mound. The fear they instill in the opposing team is unmatched.

The New York Mets are lucky enough to be holding two aces in their hand right now: Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey. The former is currently sporting an ERA of 4.80 in Pacific Coast League Triple-A, while the latter is making major league hitters look like kids on a sandlot, and through the season’s opening month is arguably the National League’s best starting pitcher.

Harvey is 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA, and, well, despite averaging 10.62 strikeouts per nine innings in 10 starts last season (a number that would place him in the top 10 so far this season, where he happens to be anyway, with 10.2 strikeouts per nine), those numbers are still a little shocking.

In 2012 he averaged nearly four walks per nine innings. This season his control has been even better, as he’s down to 2.68.

That’s not all he’s shown.

So far this season, Harvey ranks fourth throughout baseball in Wins Above Replacement (second behind only Clay Buchholz among pitchers), fifth in ERA, third in WHIP, second in hits per nine innings, and eighth in strikeouts.

He’s throwing an impractical 90 mile per hour slider about once every five pitches, and is dominating with his high heat, which averages 95 mph and tops off at about 98 mph.

Before the year began, most projections had him as a solid starter in New York’s rotation—after all, the process of bringing along a prospect with Harvey’s skill is supposed to be slow and careful—but through the first month he’s blowing by everything anyone thought he could accomplish so soon.

Wheeler is two years younger than Harvey, and has yet to throw one pitch at the Major League level. But he’s striking out 10.8 hitters per nine innings through 30 minor league innings this season (six starts), despite having trouble gripping the ball.

Harvey appears to have already come along, and Wheeler should be following soon enough. If the Mets can successfully oversee both of them reaching their full potential for years to come, it’ll be viewed as a serious job well done. Two flowers are always better than none.

* * * * * * * *

This Fan Shot was contributed by Michael Pina who is also a writer for ESPN’s TrueHoop Network. His work has been published on The Classical and ScoreBig. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelVPina.

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]]>http://metsmerizedonline.com/2013/05/harvey-and-wheeler-one-ace-showing-another-one-in-the-hole.html/feed/0The Time For Short-Sightedness Must Come To An Endhttp://metsmerizedonline.com/2010/03/the-time-for-short-sightedness-must-come-to-an-end.html/
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2010/03/the-time-for-short-sightedness-must-come-to-an-end.html/#commentsThu, 11 Mar 2010 16:26:25 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=22393According to Adam Rubin, of the Daily News, Jerry Manuel does in fact intend to use Jenrry Mejia in short relief appearances. First, Mr. Rubin’s quote, than my outrage.

Look for Manuel to get his way with Jenrry Mejia, at least as far as working the 20-year-old righthander as a reliever from this point forward in camp. If Mejia does end up with Double-A Binghamton, it’s likely he won’t be ready to enter the rotation immediately there, since he won’t be stretched out. My expectation is that from this point forward in camp, Mejia will work as a reliever rather than get three-, four- or five-inning work.

As Joba Chamberlain got torched in yesterday’s game between the Yankees and Tigers, I can’t help but see the similarities in his evolution to what the Mets are proposing to do with pitching phenom Jenrry Mejia.

Chamberlain gave up six runs on five hits and three walks over 2 1/3 innings on Wednesday. The situation for Chamberlain rapidly deteriorates, and what was once their can’t miss ace of the future, may now be a longshot for the rotation or even the bullpen.

This unfortunate turn of events is the price the Yankees will have to pay for jeopardizing the long term future of a cant-miss top of the rotation starter, just so they could have a solid option in the bullpen for a few months. It was a doomed short term strategy that bore some fruit for three months at the expense what could have been a sensational career as a Yankee ace.

Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it…

If the Mets truly believe all that hype that they have been dishing out on Jenrry Mejia, and still proceed in a like manner, it would be akin to or even worse than the trade that sent Scott Kazmir to the Rays for Victor Zambrano.

There are plenty of good rants today on why the Mets shouldn’t proceed on the course that they have seemingly embarked upon.

No good will come out of this situation, unless a few months of right-handed relief is worth more to you than a top of the rotation starter in 2011 and beyond.

Let the kid go to AA or AAA and hone his craft so that we can reap the rewards of our patience for the next decade.

The time for short-sightedness must come to an end.

]]>http://metsmerizedonline.com/2010/03/the-time-for-short-sightedness-must-come-to-an-end.html/feed/0Pelf vs Joba – Time For Me To Pay Uphttp://metsmerizedonline.com/2009/08/pelf-vs-joba-time-for-me-to-pay-up.html/
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2009/08/pelf-vs-joba-time-for-me-to-pay-up.html/#commentsFri, 07 Aug 2009 11:51:00 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=10460This morning I will concede on a bet I made on Opening Day and pay up the $25 bucks I’ve lost.

I bet my friend, a notorious Yankee fan, on who would have the better season…

Our number two pitcher Mike Pelfrey or the Yankees number five pitcher Joba Chamberlain.

The battle wasn’t even close.

I figured there would be no way I could lose, especially when ERA and Batting Average Against were two quarters of the deciding factors. The other two measures we used were strikeouts and WHIP.

Plus, I felt comfortable knowing that Mike Pelfrey had the huge benefit of facing opposing pitchers rather than a power hitting DH which is what Joba had to contend with.

It was a suckers bet I thought, only it was me who ended up being the sucker.

Joba currently has a 3.74 ERA while playing in the least friendliest pitchers park in the majors, the new Yankee Stadium.

Pelfrey, on the other hand, has a 4.75 ERA (a full run higher) while playing at Citi Field, the best pitcher friendly park in the majors.

Wow, that’s a huge difference, especially when you consider those park effects. I would imagine that if each player pitched in a neutral park the difference in ERA could have been much larger and around two runs or more.

Joba would easily shave a half run off of his already solid ERA and come in at 3.24, while Pelfrey’s ERA would soar well over 5.00. Here’s something scary to consider… Imagine Pelfrey pitching in Yankee Stadium and Joba at Citi Field?

The 23-year old Joba, also beat Pelfrey in Batting Average Against (.253 vs .286), WHIP (1.47 vs 1.50), and strikeouts (102 vs 67).

Both pitchers have started 21 games and won eight, but when you look at the actual won-loss record, it shows two pitchers that are going in very different directions. (Pelfrey 8-7, Joba 8-2)

There is one category where Mike Pelfrey actually does beat Joba Chamberlain, and sadly it’s their salary.

The Mets have paid Mike Pelfrey $2,237,500.00, while Joba took down the a tad over the league minimum at $435 thousand dollars.

My buddy will get his $25 dollars today, but it will be in pennies.

]]>http://metsmerizedonline.com/2009/08/pelf-vs-joba-time-for-me-to-pay-up.html/feed/0MLB News: Joba Chamberlain’s Mom Busted For Drugshttp://metsmerizedonline.com/2009/05/mlb-news-joba-chamberlains-mom-busted-for-drugs.html/
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2009/05/mlb-news-joba-chamberlains-mom-busted-for-drugs.html/#commentsMon, 04 May 2009 04:17:32 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=4281The Associated Press is reporting that the mother of New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain is jailed in Nebraska and facing a felony charge after being arrested on suspicion of selling methamphetamine to an undercover police officer in February.

Lincoln Police Capt. David Beggs said Monday that 44-year-old Jacqueline Standley was arrested at her apartment Saturday night.

Beggs said she allegedly sold 1 gram of a substance believed to be meth to an undercover officer for $110 on Feb. 11. The substance tested positive for meth in testing at the state laboratory.

She was charged Monday with delivery of an exceptionally hazardous drug. Her bail was set at $5,000, and she was assigned a public defender, whose name was not on her jail record.